"I believe this global economic meltdown will not end any time soon, and that it provides an opportunity; in fact it requires nonprofits concerned with social justice to step back and really look at our whole sector, our whole way of fundraising and running our organizations. Every economic and political assumption is up for grabs right now. With Obama's presidency, we see that our country can make profound changes, and we need to continue the momentum and the desire for change that can be seen all over the world to actually think through what those changes should be and to make them. Fundraising must change along with everything else."

A national donor survey performed by Cygnus Applied Research found that 46% of donors said they stopped giving because of insufficient or poor quality information about what their gifts were accomplishing (see Donor Centered Fundraising: How to hold on to your donors and raise much more money by Penelope Burk.)

The Cygnus research also found that donors don’t make a decision to give when you mail them a solicitation. They make the decision between when they make their last gift and when you solicit them the next time. During that period, donors want three things:

1. A prompt, personalized acknowledgement of their gift,
2. Confirmation that their gift is being put toward what they requested,
3. Measurable results that their gift accomplished its goal BEFORE they are asked for another contribution.

While direct mail fundraising is important, it is only one part of a larger donor communication process — a process that needs to create an integrated, ongoing conversation with donors. You need to create a written plan showing how, when and what you will communicate with donors. You need to think about your direct mail solicitations, newsletters, annual reports, thank-you letters and event invitations as a single donor communication program. You can’t do that without a written plan.

We just ran across this great guest blog post at the San Francisco Examiner site from Nicole Levine of Nonprofit Matters on best practices for a great individual donor letter. She suggests:

1. Start with a brief, compelling story that shows how your organization has made an impact.
2. Keep it short and don’t get bogged down in the details about your program.
3. Make it easy to donate via an envelope and/or online option.
4. The P.S. is the most important part of your letter.
5. Personalize it by adding a brief, handwritten note.

Read the full blog post here.

Why don't people give to our causes and what can we do about it? In her column on About.com, nonprofit blogger Joanne Fritz recently wrote a great post on this topic. Referencing Peter Singer, an ethicist and author of The Life You Can Save, Fritz details several reasons that donors may choose not to give, including:

1. No matter how compelling your statistics or statement of general need, people give more when they feel connected to an "identifiable victim" or personal story.
2. Humans have evolved to care for those closest to them. For instance, U.S. donors are far more likely to give to U.S. causes than international causes.
3. An overload of need. People are more willing to give when they can impact a greater proportion of the need. If too many people need help, the donation may seem futile.
4. If we think that others are likely to help, donors may choose not to give and instead convince ourselves that someone else will meet the need.
5. The opposite of #4 may also be true. Donors may choose not to give because others are not and it would be unfair to shoulder the entire burden.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, though. Joanne Fritz also gives some excellent suggestions about how to avoid these pitfalls.

Read the full, detailed article here.